South Korea Seeks Regional Fund to Shield Against US Credit Crisis
By Kurt Achin
Seoul
06 October 2008
Lee Myung-bak (File)
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is proposing a joint fund of about $80 billion between South Korea, Japan and China, to shield the region from the American credit problems. Lee administration officials are expected to push for the plan on the sidelines of an International Monetary Fund meeting, next week. Mr. Lee is scheduled to discuss it in a three-way Beijing summit, later this month.
South Korea's Finance Minister, Kang Man-soo warned a gathering of bankers Monday in Seoul, it may take a long time for President Bush's signing of the financial bailout law, last week, to have positive effects. In the meantime, he is telling banks to get proactive about turning their overseas holdings into dollars that can be lent to South Korean businesses.
He is telling the business community not to rely on the government, alone. He says banks need to work their way out of the problem. He advises them to raise dollars by selling foreign assets, as soon as they can.